Volleyball releases 2016 schedule

PHILADELPHIA – A pair of NCAA Division II Championship Tournament teams and four teams that the Rams will face for the first time ever highlight the 2016 Philadelphia University women's volleyball team's schedule that was released on Friday.

Philadelphia kicks off the 2016 season with its first nine matches being played away from the Gallagher Center.

The Rams travel to West Chester for the season-opening West Chester University Ram Invitational the weekend of Sept. 2-3. Philadelphia takes on West Virginia Wesleyan and Millersville on the Invitational's opening day and then face Daemen and host West Chester on the third. West Virginia Wesleyan is on the schedule for the first time, while West Chester is on it for the 15th straight season.

West Chester reached the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament.

Philadelphia heads to Lincoln (Pa.) for the first time since the 2010 season for a midweek showdown with the Lions on Sept. 7. The Rams are 5-0 all-time against Lincoln.

The string of road matches ends in the Raider Classic on Sept. 9-10 at Shippensburg. Philadelphia—who will be playing in this event for the first time since 2007—squares off Shepherd, Virginia State, and Virginia-Wise—who the Rams have never played before—and the Red Raiders--who won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

The Rams play their first home match of 2016 on Sept. 13 when Philadelphia has its second meeting with Millersville. Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play opens three nights later against the visiting University of the Sciences.

After trips to conference opponents Caldwell and Wilmington on Sept. 17 and Sept. 21, respectively, Philadelphia welcomes the two-time defending CACC champion Post to the Gallagher Center for a Homecoming Day clash on Sept. 24.

The first month of the season is capped off by a trip to Delaware for a conference match against Goldey-Beacom on Sept. 30.

Philadelphia has seven home matches lined up in October, four coming in the first 13 days. The Rams face Bloomfield—the team that eliminated the Rams in last year's CACC Tournament semifinal—on Oct. 1, Georgian Court on Oct. 5, Holy Family on Oct. 11, and Chestnut Hill on Oct. 14. A match at Nyack is stuck in between the home matches on Oct. 8.

The Rams go back on the road for showdowns with Felician on Oct. 15, East Stroudsburg on Oct. 19, and Concordia (N.Y.) on Oct. 22.

On Oct. 25, Philadelphia will take on Wilmington and Cabrini in the Gallagher Center. The Cabrini match is the final non-conference match of 2016.

Philadelphia heads to USciences and returns home to face Dominican in a Senior Day matchup on Oct. 28 and 29.

Of the four matches lined up in November, three will be on the road—at Georgian Court on Nov. 2, Chestnut Hill, Nov. 5, and Holy Family in the regular season finale on Nov. 12.

The Rams' final home match of the season is scheduled for Nov. 8 against Goldey-Beacom.